Human Settlements

First Human Settlements

• Nomadic- Wandering in constant search of food

• When agriculture was introduced, people no longer needed to be Nomadic

Urban Populations

• River Valleys in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China where there was fertile soil from annual flooding led to Urban Settlements

• People were able to grow a surplus of food to feed its people

Factors That Influence Settlement

Physical

• People tend to settle in temperate, fertile, non-mountainous areas, such as valleys and plains

• People settle near sources of fresh water• People settle not to far from oceans• Fewer people settle in dry, wet, cold or

mountainous areas

Human

• Transportation routes – coastlines, rivers, canals, railroad lines, or roads

• Technology improvements can expand areas of settlement

• Discoveries Gold (California), Oil (Texas)

Population Pyramids

What is a population pyramid?

A visual representation of the population of a country.

• graphically display a population's age and gender composition

• show numbers or proportions of males and females in each age group

• show gains of members due to immigration and birth, and loss of members due to emigration and death

• reflect population growth or decline

Interpreting a Population Pyramid

•Remember that a population pyramid is basically a bar graph turned on its side. Each line is showing you what percentage of the population is a certain age.

•Examine the title and the type of data presented. (ex. Age breakup, numbers listed below, male-female notation.)

•True pyramids are developing countries. The majority of the population is younger and not many people live to an old age. Developed countries are more rectangular; the population is spread more equally through the age groups.

How to interpret population pyramids

The main types of pyramids– Rapid growth– Slow growth – Negative growth

Shape of rapidgrowth

Shape of Slow growth

Shape of negative growth

Rapid growth

Rapid growth pyramids

• Have a large base to show high birth rates

• Amount of people decreases as the ages goes up indicating a lower standard of living

• Associated with developing countries like

Brazil, Uganda, China

Slow Growth

Slow growth pyramids

• Take on a more rectangular shape

• Indicates population is remaining fairly steady

• Birth rates and death rates are similar

• Associated with developed countries like the UK, Germany, Canada

Negative growth

Negative growth pyramids

• Looks like a reverse pyramid

• Indicates the population of the country is decreasing

• Death rates are higher than birth rates

• Associated with developed countries like

Austria, Japan, Italy